Guilty plea produces 15-year prison term

Authorities say a car stolen from a Walhalla driveway was involved in a fatal accident that took the life of a passenger in a second vehicle.  Today, according to the solicitor’s office, the driver of that stolen car, Robert Allen Pelfrey, pleaded guilty to grand larceny and felony driving under the influence with death and received a sentence amounting to 15 years in prison.  Solicitor Wagner says the death of Lois Faye Winkler was a “senseless tragedy” and Pelfrey will not be eligible for parole.  At the time, Winkler was a passenger in an Equinox driven by Tracy Davis. Driver Davis was sent to a Greenville hospital. The wrecked Equinox caught fire.  The Saturday, March 16, 2019 accident that took Winkler’s life occurred on Walhalla’s S. Broad and S. Cedar streets.  The car that struck the car in which Winkler was a passenger was taken earlier from the driveway of a home near the city.  Solicitor David Wagner said, “Special thanks to the Walhalla Police Department for their quick response and thorough investigation that led to the defendant’s arrest and conviction in this case….It is my hope that the substantial prison sentence levied by Judge Maddox in this case will give the victim’s family some measure of peace and send a message to our community of the deadly consequences of driving under the influence.”